Carbon holder



Sept. 14, 1948. R. L. TANsoN CARBON HOLDER Filed March 15. 1945 INVENTOR. RaBERT L. 72/v5a/v Patented Sept. 14, 1948 Robert: L. Tanson, akland,iCal'rf.,assignor of one-half to Elmer Cnllanks apsncaaen'rraren-is, 1945,SeriaFNoJ582519 ZClaimS. .(Cl. 1769119) invention relates to devices "for holding the-"carbon electrodes einployed inarc light 'm'ec'hanism'syand m'oreparticularly to carbon holders for iu'se with the are light mechanisms of motion mature-machines.

'Considerable efiort has been exerted in the-past to developing carbon holders capable of fir'mly gripping one end of a carbon electrode "Without danger ofiibreaking it, and in: such'a. manner that it c'an be eas'ily and quiclrlylremoved for replacement. Another :objective. has :been to develop carbon holders having theabcve characteristics and the;additionaladvantage that as much usable length of the electrode as possible is left, projecting :beyond the tip of the holder so as to permituseof the carbon for a maximum of its length. xBecauselcarbo-n holders must hold an electrode securely and maintain it in proper alignment,the,prior art devices have been constructed, with the 4 carbon engaging or receiving portion as an integral :part of the main holder unit. Frequently carbon receiving portions are inadvertently burned and spoiled through carelessness or in attempts to consume as much or" the-length of the electrodesiaspossible before discarding the stubs, and since this injury will thereafterprevent the proper gripping and positioning of .an electrode, the entire unitmust be discarded and replaced.

An object of the invention is to provide a carbon holder of such a design that the end portion .of the holder subject to burning may be easily and-quickly removed and replaced.

Y'Another object of the inventionis to provide a carbon holder having an easily and quickly removable end portion of simple and inexpensive construction,- Wherebyaccidental burning thereof will occasion the smallest possible replacement cost and delay.

A further object of this invention is to provide an inexpensive carbonholder that'will firmly hold a carbon electrode in alignment without danger of breaking 'it, While leaving'the greatest possible length thereof exposed for use.

Still'afurther object of the'invention is toprovide 'a carbon holder with theab-ove mentioned features that is compact, convenient to use; and durable, and that-may be-readily associated with standard are light mechanisms. y

The invention possesses-other objects andfea tures of advantage, someof whiclnwith the foregoing, will be set forth inthe follcwvingdescription of 'the'preferredform of the invention which is illustrated in the drawings accompanying and forming part of the specification. understood, however, that variations in the showing'lmade'b'y the said drawings and description may be adopted within the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.

Referring to said drawings:

It is to be- Figure l is an -elevation of a carbon holder embodying my invention and having a carbon electrodeposi-tioned therein.

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figural but showing a-por-tionof the device in section; I

Figure 3 is a vertical section takenalong the lined- 3 of Figureil.

Figure 4 is an end elevation of theclevlce as SHOWH in Figure '1, taken looking at Figuref l from the right.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary elevation, similar to 'a'portionof Figure Lbut illustrating a modifled form of control for an -electrode clamping arm.

embodiment includes an elongated metallic body 6 having a bore 7 inwhich'is fitted an electric conductor rod 8 bywhi'ch the holder be supported on the projection machine and connectedto amsuitable source of current. Rod -8 is preferably considerably longer than the'lood'y 6 and is positioned mediately therein so"that por tiohs 9 and 12 of the rod will project 'outwardly from what maybe termed therear' and forward endsqlll and "M respectively of the body. -setscrew :15 extending transversely through the bod y serves to re't'ainktherod in desired position there:

Anwele'ctrode'here.shown in the former aparbon la is arranged to be operatively positioned and held at thetforward end-of the body intend to end relation with rod 8, and means are pro-- vided for receiving and holding the -carbon such relationship substantially entirely inceptiodent and separate .of themainbody (i. -Rcd '8 and carbon .1 ii are preferably"designedcylindrical and of'thesame :diametenand in accordance'with the present invention there is provided a sleeve ll of electric conducting material designed to contain and receive within inside thereof the adjacent ends 0f the rod an'd' c'arboni Prefer ably the sleeve ll! is arranged for positioning completely Je'xteriorly Iof thebody, and as clearly shown in Figure 2, the 'sleeve is long enough to insure its retention in "the "sleeve; ADesirably the inside-diameter of the sleeve is such as'to pifo The holder o'fmy invention in "the preferred 3 formed with a bent end 23 having an arcuate surface 24 corresponding with and arranged to engage a side of the carbon and press the diametrically opposite side of the carbon against the adjacent surface of the sleeve. Desirably the end of the sleeve through which the carbon is received is formed with a slot 26 through which the end 23 of the lever may extend to operatively engage the carbon. Lever 22 is fulcrumed on the body by means of a pin 21 pivotally securing the lever intermediate its ends 23 and 28 in ears 29 formed on the body. Movement and positioning of the lever to place and hold the end 23 in engagement with the carbon in the sleeve may be effected by means of a nut 31 threaded on the screw 15 and positionable thereon to engage the end 28 of the lever as illustrated in Figure 2.

To insert an electrode in the holder described above, the nut 3| is screwed downwardly on the set screw l suficiently to permit the bearing surface 24 of the bent end of the clamping lever to be retracted slightly from the position shown in the drawing. The electrode is then inserted in place and the nut 3| rotated on'the set screw 15 until the bearing surface 24 of the lever is forced against the side of the electrode with the desired pressure for holding it against displacement or misalignment in use. To replace a consumed electrode, the nut 3| is merely rotated again to release the lever and permit removal of the stub to be discarded, and the new electrode is inserted in the manner described above.

It will now be clear that whenever the holder becomes damaged by reason of the electrodes being repeatedly allowedto burn close to the supported extremity, whether by inadvertence or for the purpose of securing economy in the consumption of the electrodes, simply replacing the sleeve will practically invariably render the holder as good as new. A damaged sleeve can be readily removed by merely withdrawing the cotter pin, substituting a new sleeve over the rod portion l2, and then replacing the pin. It will thus be evident, that a long life of the holder will be insured, and economy obtained in this regard as well as in the use of the electrodes. In this connection it should be noted that the sleeve is very simple in construction and can readily be formed from standard tubing stock. Furthermore, since the tube is separate of the main body, it can be made of material more conducive to cooperation with the electrode and not be restricted by the structural requirements that may be necessary for the parts of the main body.

A modified device for exerting the desiredpressureof the lever against the electrode, is shown in Figure 5. In place of the nut 31, previously described, a helical spring 32 is positioned with one end around the set screw 15, and the spring is held under compression between the end 28 of the lever and the side of the body 6. A boss 33 is preferably formed on the lever in approximate alignment with the axis of the spring 32, and the other end 34 of the spring is fitted over the boss to hold the spring securely in position. With this arrangement, it is merely necessary to press the end 28 of the lever against the pressure of the spring to release an electrode for removal and to permit insertion of a new electrode.

I claim:

1. A holder for a rod-like electrode comprising an elongated metallic body having a bore extending entirely therethrough and being of a di- 4 ameter substantially corresponding to that of said electrode, a rod of substantially the same diameter of said electrode slidable longitudinally in said bore and having an end extending from said body, a sleeve arranged for positioning with an end against said body and having a bore of substantially the same diameter as the bore of said body and receiving said rod end in a portion thereof, means securing said rod and sleeve with the rod positioned in said sleeve as aforesaid, said sleeve receiving in another portion of its bore an end of said electrode and being provided with a slot in said portion exposing the electrode in the bore, a lever pivotally connected to said body having an arm with the free end thereof positioned to register with said slot when said sleeve is against said body as aforesaid and to engage the electrode when in the sleeve, means engaging said lever to releasably hold said arm in engage-y ment with said electrode as aforesaid, and means for retaining said rod against longitudinal displacement in said body bore.

2. A holder for a rod-like electrode comprising an elongated metallic body having a bore extending entirely therethrough and being of a diameter substantially corresponding to that of said electrode,a rod of substantially the same diameter of said electrode slidable longitudinally in said bore and having an end extending from said body,

a sleeve arranged for positioning with an end against said body and having a bore .of substantially the same diameter as the bore of said body and receiving said rod end in a, portion thereof, means securing said rod and sleeve with the rod positioned in said sleeve as aforesaid, said sleeve receiving in another portion of its bore an end of said electrode and being provided with a slot in said portion exposing the electrode in the bore", a lever pivotally connected to said body having wtwo arms, one of said arms having a free end positioned to register with said slot when said sleeve is against said body as aforesaid and to engage the electrode when in the sleeve, means secured to said body and engageable with the other arm of said lever to releasably move said first mentioned arm and the end thereof into engagement with said electrode, said freeend of the arm being formed to engage said sleeve to limit displacement of said sleeve relative to said body ;on longitudinal displacement of said rod relative to the body.

ROBERT L. TANSQN.

REFERENCES CITED file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Great Britain Nov, 20, 1941 The following references are of record in the 

